Believe in Me
by snarkysweetness
Summary: Skye finds comfort in the last person she expected to show up at her door. Set post iGirl in the Flower Dress/i.


**Title: **Believe in Me  
**Author:** snarkysweetness  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Pairing:** Skye/Ward  
**Summary:** Skye finds comfort in the last person she expected to show up at her door. Set post _Girl in the Flower Dress_.  
**Warnings:** Comfort sex.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Author's Notes: **Who wouldn't want Grant Ward to show up on their doorstep?

Skye wiped at her cheeks, unsure how long she'd been holed away in her small bunk, crying. She felt raw, scrubbed down to nothing, left bleeding and shivering; emotions all over the place.

She'd let down the team, herself, and worse of all Coulson. That hurt the worst, the knowledge that she'd betrayed him. She stared down at her bracelet of shame as another, tiny sob escaped her chest.

Skye had never had a family. She'd quite literally been abandoned, on the doorstep of a church of all places. She hadn't experienced love growing up and she'd had to learn to take care of herself because it wasn't as if anyone else was going to do it. No one had loved her, nurtured her, taught her right from wrong, or believed in her; at least not until the day Phil Coulson had walked into her life and given her the one thing no one else had ever given her before: a chance. A chance to prove herself. A chance to be a part of something bigger than herself. A chance to be a part of a family.

Phil Coulson was the first person to ever believe in her. To ever hold her up to a standard. To have expectations of her that he believed she could meet. Phil Coulson was the parent she'd never had and the mentor she needed and he did it all without wanting anything in return.

He'd believed in her and she'd let him down; all because she couldn't let go of the past. She'd found a family and had almost lost it because she was too blind to realize it. She would never stop searching for answers, but now she didn't have to do it alone. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve yet another chance, but she wasn't going to waste it.

Jemma had already forgiven her and Skye was incredibly thankful. Jemma was the first real friend she'd allowed herself to make and she didn't want to lose her. She'd trusted Skye enough to allow her to explain herself and she hoped the others would do the same. May would be tricky and Fitz was Fitz, he'd come around, and Ward…

A tear slid down her cheek.

Aside from Coulson she owed him the biggest apology.

He'd stood up for her, when she'd felt her back was up against the wall. Everyone had doubted her, ready to turn on her. The moment she'd realized the family she'd found was in danger of slipping from her grasp he'd come to her defense. He'd give her a second chance on pure faith and she'd let him down.

The memory of his indifference to her afterwards still stung.

She'd come to him, in a moment when she'd allowed her walls to come down long enough to admit that she needed help, that she needed _him_, and he'd cast her aside. He'd left her to fend for herself and in danger of closing herself back up. Only her trust in Coulson had allowed her to reveal her long-held secret, letting go of a heavy burden that had been weighing her down since coming aboard the bus in the process.

But Ward…Grant…

His rejection broke her, deflating all of the feelings he'd stirred in her chest when he'd stood up for her. And the worst part was she couldn't be angry with him because she'd brought this on herself. She'd destroyed whatever progress they'd made and there was no immediate fix. She could do nothing but wait for his forgiveness and then time would mend what she had broken.

Skye sat up and wiped away her tears. She couldn't hide in here forever, sooner or later she would have to face the rest of the team and right now she needed a stiff drink which she would only get if she gathered her courage and braved the world outside of her small pod.

With wobbly knees Skye moved to her feet. She shook out her legs, allowing blood to circulate through them before taking another step. Hands shaking, Skye pressed the button to open her door and was greeted to a surprise; a slightly drunk Grant Ward standing before her. Her hand quickly moved to her cheek, to wipe away any lingering tears. His eyes met hers and she knew they were most likely still red and blotchy from her crying session.

"Ward-"

"I'm sorry."

Skye blinked in confusion. "For what?"

"I was a jerk earlier."

She gnawed on her inner cheek and stared down at the floor. "Coulson told you?" Why else would Ward bother to apologize to her?

"He just told me to go easy on you…told me there was more to the story and I should try to understand that."

Tears filled her eyes once more and she cursed her inability to hold it together in front of him. She glanced up and nodded, not knowing what to say. She was touched Coulson had even bothered and even more so that Ward had listened. She wasn't used to this, to having people. She was still one of them, despite her mistakes. That meant more to her than anything had in a very long time.

Ward held up his hand but pulled back and she wondered if he'd fought the urge to wipe away her tears. She shook the thought away as soon as it came, it was silly. Ward wasn't human enough for that. At least, that's what she had to tell herself to keep from having false hopes.

"Do you want to tell me your side of the story?" Skye knew it had to be the Scotch talking because the Ward she knew wouldn't bother asking for her side of the story. Knowing this was her chance she moved to the side and motioned for him to come inside. The pod was barely big enough for one, let alone two, but it provided more privacy than the common room.

The only place to sit was the bed and Skye sat as far away as possible from him. They sat in silence for a moment before she slowly told him her story, opening up to him in a way that was still new for her. She'd told Coulson everything, but this was different. Ward wasn't someone she looked up to, he was an equal, so the words came out more easily, and she found herself telling him everything in detail. And to his credit he didn't interrupt or speak or express any judgment in his gaze. He just listened and when she finished she was surprised that the crying had ceased.

Skye glanced up to meet his gaze, waiting for a reaction.

"Skye, if I had known…"

"I know," she whispered. She should have trusted the team, but there was nothing she could do about it now. The truth was out and hopefully they could all move past it. There was no use dwelling on what she should have done.

"No." Ward grasped her hands in his and met her eyes. "If _I_ had known…" And he didn't need to say it. She could sense the dark past hidden beneath his stone exterior. They were much more alike than they appeared, bonded by the pain that came from a broken family. She may have also hacked his files at one point. She should probably save that confession for another day.

"Thank you," she said instead.

"For what?"

"Believing in me when no one else did and when you had no reason to. And for continuing to believe in me when I didn't deserve it. I'm not used to it and I'd forgotten-" She glanced down, afraid of revealing too much. She'd been thrown aside her entire life, how did she explain how much it meant to be valued? To be trusted? There were no words.

Ward's fingers brushed against her cheek, pulling her gaze back to him. He scooted closer and she took comfort in his touch, and was reminded of her initial attraction to him when she'd interrogated him under the truth serum as his dark eyes studied her face. Her hand covered his as she leaned into his touch. He gazed down at her for long moment before seemingly making up his mind and pressed his lips against hers.

He tasted of Scotch and his kiss was far kinder than she'd expected. She was used to the steel Grant of their training sessions or the cold Grant who did his best to keep the world at bay. This was a different Grant, one she'd only glimpsed in stolen moments while they'd been alone. This seemed to be the Grant he reserved for her and her alone. Perhaps that was why she pulled him on top of her or maybe it was just that she could no longer fight the desire to be with him anymore. Whatever the reason, Skye wrapped one leg around his torso and pulled his body flush against hers while nudging her tongue past his lips and deepening the kiss.

Grant moved his hands into her hair as his lips left hers and moved to her neck. A gasp escaped her lips and she hoped there weren't cameras hidden in the room, not that it would stop her. Skye pressed her mouth to his once more. They kissed slowly, both too afraid to ruin this by moving too fast.

They peeled off their layers of clothing until the last barrier between them fell to the floor, leaving each bare to the other. Skye's nerves began to get the best of her. She'd been fine up until now with the kissing and the light touches. It was comforting and with the day she'd had, she needed it, but now she realized if they crossed this line everything would change. Ward seemed to be thinking the same thing because he hovered above her, frozen. She opened her mouth but he pressed a finger to her lips. He shook his head and motioned to the door and Skye listened, confused. Footsteps sounded a moment later and she bit back a hiss of surprise. It didn't matter who stood in the common room, if they were caught, they were both done for. She could kiss ever being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent goodbye and she was sure to disappoint A.C. in the process.

The floor creaked and the fridge opened. Skye released a small sigh. Someone was just up for a snack, not because they'd heard her being louder than she intended. The door closed, feet shifted, and a door nearby clicked shut. They waited a moment to make sure there was no one waiting to interrupt them before Ward pressed his forehead against hers.

Skye chuckled nervously. "That was-" Grant cut her off with a kiss that left her weak in the knees. Once she recovered, she wrapped both arms around his neck and pulling him closer. So, it seemed she was the only one with nerves which was fine with her.

"Just try not to wake the entire bus," he whispered into her ear as he kissed his way down her neck, between her breasts, and along her torso.

Skye rolled her eyes. Of course the specialist Grant Ward would think of himself as some sort of Sex God. "Someone's a little over-confident-oh!" Ward pressed his mouth between her legs and as his tongue worked magic she'd never experienced with another man she realized that he had every reason to be a cocky little shit.

She tangled her fingers in his short hair, unintentionally scratching his scalp in the process. Ward didn't seem to mind the pain, in fact, it only spurned him on. A loud gasp escaped her lips and she knew there was no way in hell she was going to be able to keep it down. Even using a pillow to muffle her cries wouldn't help. Jemma was sleeping right on the other side of this wall, it was going to be damn near impossible to keep her from waking up.

Skye grabbed Ward by the back of the neck and pulled him up so she could forcefully press her lips to his. As much as she really wanted to fuck him properly in every way possible, it wasn't going to happen on the bus in this tiny pod. It was going to have to wait until they were on leave or had reason to stay in a hotel.

Just the thought of what she'd be able to do with him when truly alone was a turn on and she cursed him for being so goddamn sexy.

Ward chuckled against her lips and she felt a sudden urge to punch him. He was going to be insufferable about this, wasn't he?

"Shut up, Jemma's a light sleeper," she growled against his lips, not wanting to hear it. She could almost guarantee if their places were reversed he would be just as loud. He just had the advantage because he had her pinned down with no way to return the favor.

"You're a terrible liar," he whispered as he caught her lower lip between his teeth. She moaned and wondered how in the hell she'd come to be at Grant Ward's mercy. _Oh, right_, she thought as he kissed her once more.

She knew she couldn't overpower him, not without more training, but she managed to shove him off of her long enough to climb onto his lap and wrap herself around him. There was no room to get him on his back where he belonged, but this would have to do. Skye pressed her lips to his once more before reaching around him and fumbling around in her drawer for a condom. Ward threaded his fingers through her hair while she searched and trailed kissed over her shoulder.

She fought the urge to moan and wondered how in the hell she'd trained with him all of this time without winding up with her panties off. "That's not help-" Her fingers brushed over a square wrapper . Success! She prayed it didn't break because she knew this was the last one and she wasn't sure this would happen again if they stopped now.

Skye tore into it but he caught her by the wrist and met her eyes with an intense stare. She really hoped he wasn't planning to be noble right now; she'd done enough crying for one evening. She wasn't sure she could handle his rejection twice on the same night.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For-I-wait, what?" They hadn't even had sex yet, he could thank her later if he really needed to.

Ward cupped her cheek before pressing his lips to hers lightly. He rested his forehead against hers as he broke the kiss. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "For giving me someone to believe in."

Skye closed her eyes. Shit. She was in trouble. He was totally going to make her fall in love with him, wasn't he?

"Grant…" Skye kissed him, slowly, and drew him closer, until they fell back onto the mattress in a tangle of limbs. She wasn't sure how the condom got from her fingers to his or when he'd managed to roll it on but one moment she was blissfully lost in his kiss and the next he was inside of her, filling her to the hilt.

It was a miracle they didn't wake Jemma. There were only so many sighs and moans their mouths could muffle and honestly the last thing on Skye's mind was Jemma or Fitz or anyone else on the bus. The world fell away and failed to exist outside of her small living quarters. There was nothing but Grant to occupy her conscious mind. And while she'd fantasized about all of the different ways she wanted to fuck him this was something else; something meaningful. Even Miles, who she'd known for years, had never made her feel this way.

It wasn't just about the sex, which was amazing, but something had changed. Between their training and her betrayal and Grant's outburst and their talk, they'd bonded and found an intimacy with one another that she'd yet to find with another person. They were treading on dangerous territory here because it was one that involved their hearts.

As she lay in his embrace afterwards, she hoped they hadn't just made a huge mistake. Knowing she was falling for her S.O. was frightening enough without dwelling on all of the things that could go wrong.

Grant nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arms around her protectively. Skye closed her eyes with a small sigh. It was really easy to feel normal and safe with him and forget that they had jobs to go back to. Jobs that were already complicated by the events of yesterday and now-

"Are you okay?"

Skye glanced over her shoulder to meet his eyes before shifting in his arms so she could press her nose to his and slip her hands around his waist. "Yeah." She wasn't sure how, but she knew was. She still had him, the team, and Coulson. She wasn't alone anymore. No matter what happened in the future, she had a family. She'd made it this far without one, how could she not be okay with whatever was to come?

"You?"

He smirked. "I think once Coulson gets over this we'll be fine. If Barton and Romanoff can make it work, I think we can make do." Skye buried her face in the crook of his neck out of embarrassment. They were going to have to tell Coulson and- she groaned. May. Skye wasn't sure which would be worse; Coulson's disapproval or May's. And then Fitzsimmons would never let them hear the end of it.

But…

"So, this isn't just a one-time thing?"

Okay, that was stupid. She was stupid. Of course it wasn't and the fact that she needed to hear it again to be sure was ridiculous.

She peeked out from his shoulder to find him shaking his head.

"I can prove it's not right now if you'd like."

Heat rushed to her cheeks. How was he already ready to go again? And as much as she really, really wanted to, she also really didn't want to wind up with a baby in nine months. And she really didn't think now was the time to have the birth control and STD discussion; maybe after their first real date.

"It's okay, I believe you," she assured as she linked her fingers with his. This was going to be difficult. He was still going to be hard on the outside and she was still going to be naïve and make mistakes and putting their lives on the line wasn't going to make it any easier. But she'd meant what she said; she believed in him. She trusted him. They could make this work, no matter what the obstacles.

With a small smile she pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving her lips to his ears. "But if you really feel the need to prove your point, I think Simmons keeps everything we could ever possibly need on hand in the infirmary like the good little doctor that she is."

Grant didn't skip a beat. "I'll be back in two minutes."

Skye was going to be dead on her feet come morning but at least it would be worth it.


End file.
